


Wings

by GooseOfGander



Category: Come From Away - Sankoff & Hein
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:14:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28124451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GooseOfGander/pseuds/GooseOfGander
Summary: Annette has always had an active imagination. Now with the excitement that has come to Gander, she meets a charismatic pilot, but is it real, or another one of her daydreams?
Relationships: Annette/Captain Bristol (Come From Away)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Wings

Wings.

‘Did not!’ yelled Emily McNeil stomping her foot. 

'Did too’ responded Annette with equal fervor. The debate had escalated quickly on the asphalt playground of Gander Academy. Annette had told everyone that she had met Debbie Gibson, the singer, and now Debbie Gibson wanted to be her best friend, so Emily McNeil, the girl stomping her foot, couldn’t be her best friend anymore.

‘Annette!’ came a voice like a stop-sign, and all the girls on the playground froze. It was a well-known fact among the students at Gander Academy that Ms. Davis was not to be messed with. 

‘Come here, Annette.’ Called Ms Davis clear across the basketball courts. ‘Now you’re gonna get it’ sneered Emily McNeil as Annette slunk away towards her teacher.  
‘What fibs have you been slinging now, eh?’ asked Ms Davis, placing her hands on her hips. 

‘They weren’t fibs. I met Debbie Gibson and they won’t believe me.’ Annette said to the ground, avoiding the searching glare of Ms Davis.

‘You met Debbie Gibson?’ scoffed Ms Davis. ‘And where did you meet Debbie Gibson?’

‘At the diner.’

‘At the diner? I didn’t know Debbie Gibson was in Gander and I doubt that if she was in Gander, she would be at the diner considering that I saw in the paper this morning that she’s on tour at the moment in France! Now you apologize to Emily and I don’t want any more fibs, you hear?’

‘Yes, Ms Davis.’ Responded Annette, her voice and shoulders slumped further to the floor. Her face was now a deeper shade of embarrassment as she turned back towards her friends. 

It’s not that Annette had a problem with lying. It’s just that the stories she had in her head were always more interesting than what was happening in their tiny town. The sky over Gander Academy was always so glum. The photos in her magazines never had glum skies.

And the glumness went on. Annette continued her daydreams and fantasies and occasionally one would slip out her mouth in idle conversation, like when she told everyone that she’d be leaving Gander to become a model in California. Or when she told Tim Donovan that Simon Littlemore had asked her to marry him and instead of the two fighting for her affection like she dreamed, Tim had simply said “oh”, and shuffled off into the shadows of the bar. 

She didn’t leave Gander. In fact, she didn’t really even leave Gander Academy. First, she’d gotten a job there as a library assistant and then as an actual librarian and then as a teacher too when Ms Davis, Beulah, she’d never get used to calling her Beulah, was made Principal. But in her head; in her head she’d had the most wonderful adventures.  
Until one day the adventure came to her.   
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The work was frantic. The news about the planes, about the towers and fires and death went through the community like a shockwave. Now with so many planes and so many passengers waiting at the airport, Beulah and Annette and anyone else who could help sprang into action preparing the school for arrivals. Beulah doled out orders like punches. Annette practically ran down the corridors setting up cots, collecting blankets and tinned food. In the pit of her stomach there was a knot of fear, but also a flutter of excitement. Finally, something exciting was happening to her. Almost immediately she felt guilt for this thought, but the work didn’t let up and she didn’t have time for her mind to wander to what-ifs and fantasies.

That night, when most of the plane-people were situated, there was an eerie stillness in the halls of Gander Academy. Usually, the linoleum halls rang with the high-pitched chatter and laughter of the children and the general clatter of classrooms. Now, in the wake of disaster there was a sobering quiet. The silence was punctuated by the occasional cough or sob, but for the most part the plane people hunkered on the floor, or on the makeshift cots or in the dinner queue in silence. Annette was walking amongst them doing her best to reassure these poor people by handing out bottled water and Kleenex to anyone who wanted them when a hand reached up and grabbed her firmly on the forearm making her gasp in surprise.

‘I’ve been watching you’, he said, pulling himself up to his full height. He kept hold of her arm and stood close to her. Annette noticed the pilot’s uniform and her heart beat a little faster. His face was conspiratorially close to hers, his dark features in close-up. 

‘I’ve seen the way you’re caring for all these people,’ he said in a voice that was rich and rolling, like summer thunder across the harbor. ‘What’s your name?’  
‘Annette’ she stammered; her voice breathless.

‘Annette, I’m Captain Bristol. I want you to be my personal liaison. It’s important in emergency situations to establish a chain of command. Can you do that for me?’

She could only nod in response for fear that the butterflies in her stomach might escape. He was handsome, and with some surprise Annette realized that even after all that time sitting on the plane and now here in the Academy, he smelt of mellow cologne.

‘Thank you,’ said Captain Bristol, pulling her closer, his grip firm and reassuring on her arm. ‘I knew I could count on you.’ And with that he let go, turned efficiently and marched off towards the gymnasium.

When Annette got back to the kitchen, she had to sit down for fear that her knees would buckle under her. Captain Bristol’s words swirled in her mind like the butterflies in her stomach. _I want you to be my personal liaison._ He’d stood very close, thought Annette. Did he have to stand so close? _I want you to be my personal liaison._ He had stroked her arm, hadn’t he? It definitely felt like he had stroked her arm, softly. Tenderly. _I want you…_

‘Oh yes, and here’s me lugging tray after tray of toutons, working my fingers to their bones while you’re here having a good old relax.’ Annette’s daydreams were rudely interrupted by Beulah clattering the heavy food trays into industrial sink.

‘Well?’ Beulah called, but Annette was still blinking back into reality. The last of the butterflies finally dissipating.

‘Hmm?’ inquired Annette, visibly blushing.

‘Hello, Gander to Annette. “Hmm”, indeed, and what’s got you all hot and bothered.’

‘That pilot,’ she replied, her voice far off, still returning to earth from her dreaming.

‘What pilot?’

‘Captain Bristol.’

‘Captain Bristol? I haven’t met any Captain Bristol. What about him?’

‘He said he wanted me to be his personal liaison.’ Said Annette, blushing brightly now.

‘He never said that,’ laughed Beulah, turning the hose above the sink on, pouring hot water into the mostly empty trays. That English feller sure liked his toutons, she thought to herself with bemusement. 

And maybe he hadn’t said that. Now Annette wasn’t so sure. Had she just daydreamed the whole thing? Had she misunderstood? Was this just like when she thought that Eric Martinelli had asked her to prom, but in fact had asked her where she was from?

The whole of the next day and into the night Annette went through her work in a daze. Her mind wandered to the strong handed pilot. _I knew I could count on you._ Somewhere in the periphery of her mind he pushed her against a wall, making her gasp. _I want you to be my personal liaison._ He ran his fingers down her arm and suddenly he was holding her hips. _I want you…_

She was jolted back to the present by a small commotion in the gym. That lanky English feller and his wife, and that nice gay couple had started complaining about how bored they were, that it was no good hanging around here and that they should get out of here. Beulah, passing by wheeling a trolley loaded to overflowing with toilet paper interjected that they could all take a walk. The little group thought this was a great idea, but Annette knew that Beulah had, for hospitalities sake, truncated her usual suggestion of “take a long walk off a short pier.” 

‘Annette.’ Came a voice like honey from behind her and instantly a shiver went up her spine. ‘Annette, I’ve been looking for you.’ 

Annette turned slowly and came face to handsome, broad-featured face with Captain Bristol. 

‘I need you Annette,’ he said taking her by the hand. 

Annette’s heart beat faster as he led her to a darkened classroom. His gait was long and reassuring. It felt to Annette that even though there was chaos and confusion all around them, that Captain Bristol knew where he was going. He knew how to get these people out of this situation. She imagined him commanding his crew on the plane. His rich voice over the intercom. This is your captain speaking. Annette, could you please report to the flight deck. She was a stewardess and they were flying to Hawaii. He had spilt something on his shirt and he needed her to help him unbutton it because he couldn’t possibly take his hands off the controls because he was at a crucial point in the flight and there was turbulence and suddenly the cockpit rocked and she fell into him, steading her hands across his broad chest...

‘Annette,’ said the captain, snapping her back to Gander Academy and the linoleum clad present. 

‘I need your help Annette.’

‘Anything,’ she nodded, and she really, in that moment, meant it.

‘I need you to find some way of boosting morale amongst the passengers. They’re growing restless.’ 

Annette’s heart flittered a little less, realizing that what the captain wanted was not so important or… something else, as he had made it seem. But the way he maintained eye contact, standing so close to her, made her feel like what he was saying was the most important task in the world. He made her feel like she was the most important person, if not in the world, then at least in Gander.

‘Sure,’ agreed Annette searching her brain for some activity for the passengers. It was a hard ask for her. She’d spent so much of her time mentally escaping from the mundanities of Gander, she couldn’t actually think what there was to do in her small town. Then she remembered.

‘There’s an Irish band that plays at Wilson’s Bar every Tuesday. They’re pretty good. Could be a good knees-up.’  
Captain Bristols shoulders relaxed and his steely gaze softened. 

‘Thank you, Annette,’ he said, relief dancing in his voice. ‘I knew you would think of something.’ 

And with that he turned on his heels and was gone, leaving Annette alone amongst the empty desks of the classroom.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Annette spent the rest of the afternoon scurrying from room to room telling anyone who would listen – insisting – that anyone who would listen should come to Wilson’s Bar to blow off some steam. Much to the dismay of Beulah, no other task seemed to matter to Annette. The dirty linens piled up and the bathrooms remained uncleaned as Annette walked with purpose amongst the passengers and as though some commanding power had been transferred from Captain Bristol to her, she made everyone she spoke to feel like this was the most important thing in the world.

Everyone, except for that English feller and one of the gay fellers. The English feller had been quite adamant that he didn’t like parties or dancing or drinking or music or crowds or bars, but had very quickly changed his mind when his wife had said that she would go. One of the gay fellers thought it was a fabulous idea. He’d said as much, but the other had said that he wanted to stay put in case there was any news about the planes leaving. The whole thing caused quite a row between them.

That night, Wilson’s Bar was packed to bursting. The Irish band were in fine form. Some of the regulars even joined in on their favorite songs. Everyone that Annette had spoken to was there and some of the locals too. Old Wilson was so slammed for business behind the bar that Claude, the Mayor had to chip in serving drinks. Annette stood back, admiring what she and the captain had achieved. Everywhere people were smiling and laughing, dancing and singing. For a moment they had forgotten about the world around them, about the reason they were all in Gander to begin with. They weren’t stuck watching CNN replays or trying to contact friends and relatives. They were happy and the fear and hate that seeped into life all around the world couldn’t get in to that little bar in the little town of Gander. 

Annette smiled as Beulah bumped in to her from the side, thrusting her hips like a steam barge in time with the music. 

‘So, this is what you’ve been up to eh, little party organizer? Good idea, those folks from the plane needed something to distract them,’ Beulah shouted over the music close to Annette’s ear. Annette nodded.

‘It was Captain Bristol’s idea,’ she replied and felt something like pride in her chest.

‘Oh, the invisible Captain Bristol? Where is he then?’ chided Beulah.

Annette craned her neck to look across the dance floor, searching for the captain. They gay fellers were having a little argument off in a far corner, the English feller and his wife were having a grand old time on the dance floor and now one of the plane people and the Mayor were both behind the bar dancing. She scanned the room, but couldn’t spot the captain anywhere.

‘I don’t know,’ she said at last, half to Beulah, half to herself.

Someone yelled for the screech and the locals joined in the call with laughter. 

‘Oh, this’ll be good,’ said Beulah, nudging Annette in the ribs ‘those come-from-aways won’t know what hit em. You want a drink, lovey?’

She nodded sadly to Beulah

The night had lost most of its appeal for Annette. She was half hoping to show Captain Bristol what she had done – what she had done for him. Beulah bustled off through the crowd to fetch them some drinks. Judging from the winding trail she left in her wake, Annette suspected that Beulah had already bustled to the bar a few times.  
The crowd had reached fever-pitch now and the locals were calling for the screech and the cod both. People on the dancefloor made way as Old Wilson and Young Wilson fetched some chairs for the plane people. There, as the crowd parted, Annette spied a flash of blue across the room. Not just any blue at that, airline pilots blue. Captain Bristol was across the bar near the doorway, he scanned the room urgently until he locked eyes with Annette. Like electricity, she could feel the connection from across the dancefloor. Without breaking his gaze, the captain strode towards her, oblivious of the clatter happening around him as the town-folk manhandled the English feller, his wife, one of the gay fellers and a few other plane people into the chairs for the screech-in ceremony. When the captain was a few steps from her he finally smiled.

‘Annette,’ he said without breaking stride, ‘I knew you could do it.’ 

He didn’t stop walking towards her either. Before she knew it, his arm was around her waist and he pulled her tight against him. He bent his neck down to her and, without hesitation, kissed her deeply on the mouth. His hand came up to cradle her head. After her momentary shock and wonder, Annette angled her head back and reached up for his strong shoulders. All too soon though, the captain broke away from her.

‘Thank you, Annette,’ he said, still holding her tightly, ‘but now I must head back to the academy. I can’t be away from the radio for too long. I might receive new orders at any time.’

Annette could feel the hot flush of passion leaving her cheeks as suddenly as it had come on. Her vision extended back to the crowded bar around her. She looked around sheepishly half hoping that no one had noticed their kiss and half hoping that everyone had noticed. To her dismay however, all eyes in the room were on another kiss. The English feller and his wife were a tangle of limbs. She was all over him like teenagers in the backseat of a car overlooking Dover Fault. The crowd whooped and hollered their encouragement. 

‘Hey,’ said Beulah elbowing Annette in the ribs and handing her a drink. 

‘It’s not her husband,’ Beulah continued ‘they’re not even married. I’m glad something good has come out of all this. At least someone is getting some action, eh? Good granny, look at em go!’

Annette looked around in confusion. In all the commotion she hadn’t even noticed the captain slip away. 

‘What are you doing girl?’ asked Beulah ‘you’re missing a good smooching.’

‘The captain’ said Annette trailing off, her head on a swivel, searching the room for a flash of pilot blue.

‘Oh, not this again! Come on, Annette. Enough of the make-believe. There is no captain. 

‘I have to go,’ said Annette shaking her head. And as she scurried from the bar, weaving her way through the crowd, the woman who was not the English feller’s wife, came up for air and then to thunderous applause she went right back to her smooching.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gander Academy was even quieter now with all the plane people out and about. Her footsteps echoed down the linoleum floors. She slipped her high-heels off and padded gently the rest of the way to the main office. There, illuminated by the blue glow of a computer screen, waiting, diligently by the radio, she spied Captain Bristol. She leaned against the doorway and watched him for a while. Watched him watching the monitor with hawk-like concentration. With some sympathy she realized that he looked tired.

‘What’s it like?’ she said at last, making her presence known. 

Captain Bristol sat even taller in his chair, if that were possible. He turned with surprise toward her.

‘Annette,’ he said raising to his feet and straightening his uniform in an efficient movement. ‘I didn’t hear you come in. Why aren’t you at the party?’

‘I wanted to make sure you were alright.’

Captain Bristol smiled and it might just have been the most beautiful smile Annette had ever seen. 

‘That’s very kind of you. I’m fine. Thank you.’ He sat back down and motioned for Annette to sit next to him. ‘What’s what like?’ he asked, turning back to the screen.

‘Being up there’, she said, pointing up at the ceiling, but meaning the sky, airplanes and freedom. What she really meant by “up there” was “not here”.  
‘I’ve never been in a plane before. I’ve never even left Gander really. I just – ‘she trailed off, realizing how small and uncultured she must sound.

‘It’s fantastic,’ said the captain. ‘I grew up on a farm in Ohio and at nights I would lay out in the back field and look up at the stars. I used to lay there and watch the stars move across the sky and imagine what it would be like to be up there. Up there away from the farm and chores and life and the real world. Then when I finally flew. Flew by myself for the first time,’ he smiled again, and Annette decided that, actually, this smile was the most beautiful smile she’d ever seen, 'it felt like I could go anywhere. It felt like the world was so much bigger than I ever imagined.'

‘I’d like to see it one day,’ sighed Annette and with some surprise she realized that she’d mustered the courage to rest her head on his shoulder. 

‘You should,’ said the captain, and with even more surprise, Annette realized he’d taken her hand in his.

They sat like that for a long time. The captain would point out interesting details on the computer screen and Annette asked him questions about the places he’d flown until she drifted to sleep and dreamt of clouds and stars and wings.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

‘Wake up, will ya!’ Beulah shouted, slapping Annette’s feet off the desk. 

‘They’ve almost loaded up all those plane people. Thank goodness this is all over and we can get back to what passes for normal around here. If I have to cook another touton again…’ 

‘They’re leaving?’ asked Annette reality falling in to place around her. Where had the captain gone? 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Annette sat by the library window watching the children play in the school yard. She sighed and flipped idly through the pages of her gossip magazine. It wasn’t that she missed the captain, or the excitement that had visited her tiny part of the world. It was a sigh of disappointment. Disappointment at how easily she had let her life return to its humdrum routine. She hadn’t even put up a fight. She, just, sort of, let it happen. And now she was sat looking out at the slate-gray schoolyard and a slate-gray sky.

‘You ok over there, lovey?’ asked Beulah gently, which shocked Annette out of her daydream quicker than any sharp word could have. She’d never known Beulah to ask anything gently, so the concern had taken her by surprise, making her blush. At first Beulah had teased her about her make-believe pilot, but now, months later, her usually happy, sunny friend was still in the doldrums.

‘I’m fine’, said Annette and she pretended to smile. It’s just,’ and before she noticed that she hadn’t finished that sentence, she felt Beulah’s hand, rubbing her back in comfort.

‘A letter came for you’, said Beulah in a voice softer than Annette thought she was capable of. Annette let out a small huffing laugh. ‘It’s probably another magazine subscription reminder.’

‘I don’t think so. It’s in an American Airlines envelope.’ Said Beulah, dangling the envelope in front of Annette’s face. To say she gasped would be an understatement. She ripped the letter from Beulah’s hand and examined the proud blue American Airlines logo before peeling it open carefully. Beulah pulled up a nearby chair and watched Annette with almost as much interest as Annette gave the letter.

‘He’s a hard man to track down, your Captain Bristol,’ said Beulah with a smile that verged on tears, ‘sorry it took so long.’ Annette looked up at Beulah, tears welling in her own eyes.

‘You did this?’

Beulah nodded. ‘Got sick of you moping around the place, didn’t I?’

‘He says that he wants me to come to Las Angeles. He wants to show me the stars.’

‘Well, that is the place to go for movie stars, I suppose.’ Said Beulah.

‘Not those kinds of stars. Stars,’ said Annette pointing at the roof, but meaning the sky, airplanes and freedom. ‘He wants to take me up on a flight and show me the stars.’

Annette sprang from her chair and wrapped Beulah in a tight hug.

‘Thank you’, she said close to Beulah’s ear.

‘You’re welcome’ Beulah said through the constricting hug.

‘He says I should train to be a pilot.’

‘You’d make a great pilot’, said Beulah, wriggling her face free for air. ‘Go have your adventures.’

‘I will’, said Annette and she was surprised to find that she really meant it.


End file.
